Politics of North Korea - Political Science - Oxford Bibliographies Politics of North Korea LAST REVIEWED: 04 May 2015 LAST MODIFIED: 26 August 2013 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0109 Introduction Today North Korea is perhaps the world’s most closed country whose totalitarian political system is built on a family dynastic succession. Founded in 1948, the politics of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea has been shaped by a constant interplay between the external security environment on the one hand, and political dynamics internal to its own history, culture, and society on the other hand. The Korean independence movement against Japanese colonialism (1910–1945), the division following the occupation by the American and Soviet forces, and the Korean War (1950–1953) are important historical experiences behind North Korean nation building. Despite predictions of the regime collapse, North Korea is one of the few remaining communist regimes after the end of the Cold War.

With the cessation of Soviet aid in 1990, however, North Korea has suffered from a near-bankrupt national economy and despite the need for economic reform, has refused to contemplate significant opening. This self-imposed isolation still has not shielded the regime from a steady inflow of information from the outside world. Four major themes characterize post–Cold War North Korean politics. First, under the banner of the Military First (Songun) policy, Pyongyang’s nuclear program has become tied to the regime survival in the last twenty years. North Korea declared itself to be a nuclear power in 2005 and the international negotiations aimed at denuclearizing North Korea have yielded modest mixed results. Second, the ideology of Juche (self-reliance) has been a central theme in the domestic political process of building and consolidating the North Korean regime of a one-man rule since the Kim Il-Sung era. A third theme is the dilemma of North Korean economic reforms toward marketization. Pyongyang has tried a few measures of market economy to attract foreign investments, but remains extremely wary of the social and political ramifications of such steps.

Fourth, in 2012 the future of North Korea is at a crossroads after the death of Kim Jong-Il in December 2011 and the generational succession to his young son Kim Jong-Un. General Overviews The literature that informs North Korean politics generally tends to cover both Koreas in a single publication given their intertwined modern history. More recent works have looked specifically at North Korea’s post–Cold War predicament. Oberdorfer 2001 , Cumings 2005 , and Robinson 2007 offer an excellent historical overview of Korean politics. They all rightly highlight the importance of collective historical experiences such as the Japanese colonialism, the occupation, the division and the Korean War in shaping their national politics. Kihl 1984 , Kim 1998 , and Yang 1999 offer a comprehensive overview of the political systems of the two Koreas to readers who wish to grasp some basic understanding of North Korea in comparison with South Korea. Most recently, there have been works that could serve as texts on the specific topic of North Korean politics aside from the aforementioned books on modern history.

McEachern 2010 offers a comprehensive assessment of the North Korean regime from an institutional perspective. Cha 2012 is the first scholarly and public policy book on North Korea published after the death of Kim Jong-il. Cha, Victor D. The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. New York: HarperCollins Ecco, 2012. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » The first published work on North Korea after the death of Kim Jong-il. Argues controversially the regime is under dual stresses that it ultimately cannot manage: A post–Kim Jong-il leadership that adheres to conservative Juche (self-reliance) ideals, and a society that has grown more independent with an emerging market mentality. Cha, Victor D. The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. New York: HarperCollins Ecco, 2012. Find this resource: Cumings, Bruce. Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History. Updated ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.

Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Written by a professor and former South Korean ambassador to the United States, this voluminous work provides a full political history of the two systems. Encyclopedic in scope. Yang, Sung-Chul. The North and South Korean Political Systems: A Comparative Analysis. Rev. ed. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym, 1999. Find this resource: Journals Some of the most informative articles on North Korea are found in the few well-established academic journals that focus on Asia. Asian Survey publishes yearly updates on North Korea as well as articles that shed light on various aspects of the country’s politics and foreign relations. Both Pacific Affairs and Journal of East Asian Studies print high-quality research articles. The first English-language journal that is solely devoted to North Korean studies is North Korean Review . The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis features articles on defense and foreign policy issues of the two Koreas and their neighbors. The International Journal of Korean Unification Studies focuses on the theme of Korean unification and is useful for those who are interested in security issues.

Hyundae bukhan yongu (North Korean Studies Review) and Tongil Chungchak Yongu (Korean Unification Policy Studies) are Korean-language journals that provide researchers with timely analyses on North Korea and the topic of Korean unification. DOI: 10.1162/ISEC_a_00068 Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » An excellent review essay of three recent books on North Korea. Provides the author’s expert analysis of North Korea along the themes of the books—domestic political institutions, political economy, and the lives of the North Korean people. Kang, David C. “They Think They’re Normal: Enduring Questions and New Research on North Korea—A Review Essay.” International Security 36 (2011–2012): 142–171. Find this resource: Primary Sources There are only a handful of primary sources available on North Korea.

However, Kim Il-sŏng 1980 , Kim Il-sŏng 1967–1987 , and Kim Chŏng-il 1992 contain the two North Korean leaders’ speeches, letters, treatises, commemorative messages, announcements, and orders. Along with Kim Il-Sung’s memoir ( Kim Il-sŏng 1992 ), these multivolume books serve as important sources for North Korean studies researchers. For more contemporary primary sources, Korean Central News Agency of DPRK is available online featuring North Korea’s official daily news. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has an ongoing North Korea International Documentation Project , which offers valuable primary sources that are newly declassified from former communist countries. The National Committee on North Korea website lists the documents pertinent to the Six- Party Talks. Kim Il-sŏng. Kim Il-sŏng chŏjak sŏnjip. 9 vols. Pyongyang, North Korea: Chosŏn Nodongdang Ch’ulp’ansa, 1967–1987.

Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » “Selected works of Kim Il-Sung.” A total of nine volumes feature 202 writings of Kim Il-Sung between 1945 and 1986. Kim Il-sŏng. Kim Il-sŏng chŏjak sŏnjip. 9 vols. Pyongyang, North Korea: Chosŏn Nodongdang Ch’ulp’ansa, 1967–1987. Find this resource: Find this resource: The Genesis of Communist North Korea In order to understand North Korean state formation, it is necessary to examine Korean communism in conjunction with anti-Japanese guerilla movements of early Korean communists. There are books that use rigorous archival research despite a limited data availability elucidating the early years of North Korea’s state building. Suh 1967 is a pioneering work in the study of Korean communism and North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung. Suh 1970 is a collection of translated primary documents on the topic of early Korean communist movement. Scalapino and Lee 1972 lay the groundwork on the study of Korean communism for later researchers.

Nam 1974 focuses on the early years of power struggle among the North Korean communist factions. Nam, Koon Woo. The North Korean Communist Leadership, 1945–1965: A Study of Factionalism and Political Consolidation. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. 1974. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Examines the early years of power struggle among the North Korean communist factions in the postliberation period and discusses the resulting emergence of North Korean leadership after the bitter power struggle in 1961. Nam, Koon Woo. The North Korean Communist Leadership, 1945–1965: A Study of Factionalism and Political Consolidation. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. 1974. Find this resource: Scalapino, Robert, and Chong-Sik Lee. Communism in Korea. 2 vols.

Berkeley and London: University of California Press, 1972 Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » A valuable account on the often-ignored period of North Korea’s post–Korean War reconstruction during which Kim Il-Sung consolidated a regime centered on one-man rule, a self-reliant economy as well as a controlled society. Uses declassified Hungarian archives made available recently. Szalontai, Balázs. Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev Era: Soviet-DPRK Relations and the Roots of North Korean Despotism, 1953–1964. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center, 2005. Find this resource: The Korean War The scholarship on the Korean War is an area of Korean studies where scholars from the different fields, not just political science, but history and anthropology as well, engage in lively debates with regards to its origins and the nature of the conflict.

The so-called revisionist scholarship represented by Cumings 1983 , Cumings 1990 , and Cumings 2005 (cited in General Overviews ), counters the conventional view that the Korean War was started by North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung and puts forward a civil war origin of the Korean War. The release of Soviet and Chinese documents more recently tends to confirm the conventional view. Goncharov, et al. 1993 , based on Soviet and Chinese archives, highlights the great power politics between Moscow and Beijing and argue the Korean War was initiated by the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea consequently. Stueck 2002 synthesizes these differing views by arguing that both internal and external forces were important considerations. Stueck 1995 casts a new light on the Korean War by emphasizing the international nature of the conflict. Millett 2008 provides a highly useful account on a fifty-year historiography of the Korean War while Grey 2004 offers a review article of nineteen works on the Korean War. Kang 2003 is a rare attempt to examine the Korean War in view of contributing to international relations theory.

Cumings, Bruce, ed. Child of Conflict: The Korean-American Relationship, 1943–1953. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1983. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » An edited volume with various chapters that shed light on American policy toward Korea between 1943 and 1953. Discusses the US postwar trusteeships over Korea between 1943 and 1953, and containment and rollback in 1950 with the Korean War. Cumings, Bruce, ed. Child of Conflict: The Korean-American Relationship, 1943–1953. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1983. Find this resource: Written by a member of the armistice negotiation team, the Psychological Warfare Adviser to the Senior United Nations Delegate, Vatcher offers detailed illustrations of what transpired at the negotiations leading to the truce in 1953. Vatcher, William H. Panmunjom: The Story of the Korean Military Armistice Negotiations. New York: Praeger, 1958.

Find this resource: North Korean Leaders and the Juche Ideology Although there are many, sometimes sensational, journalistic accounts on North Korean leaders especially since the 1990s (such as Fujimoto 2004 ), very few scholarly works exist on this topic of North Korean leaders due to the problem with data collection. Against this backdrop, Suh 1988 sets the tone for future studies on the North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung while Martin 2004 is an exhaustive examination of North Korean political history through Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il that offers detailed narratives on North Korean politics, society, and culture. Some of the primary works written by Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il themselves are of particular importance in understanding how these leaders have established North Korean ways of political life centered on the idea of Juche.

Kim 1974 , Kim 1972 , and Kim 1982 all show that the Juche ideology has been constructed to be the dominant ideological force in North Korean politics through the evolutionary process, interacting with the country’s internal and external political environments; from Kim Il-Sung’s declaration of North Korean adaptation of Marxism-Leninism in 1955 to Kim Jong-Il’s more systemic theorizing of Juche during the succession in the 1980s. Chang 1999 is a seminal article that examines how North Korean leaders used the vision of Juche as an integral part of political process in North Korea ranging from populist politics and the military to the party. Park 2002 is a more comprehensive study on North Korean leaders’ use of the Juche ideology. Chang Dal-Jung. “Kimjongil cheje wa juche bijeon: Ideology, dang, gurigo gunjung ul chungsim uro.” Journal of Asiatic Studies 42 (1999): 229–277.

Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » “The Kim Jong-Il regime and the Juche vision: Ideology, party and the mass.” Examines the relationship between the Juche ideology and the Kim Jung-Il regime consolidation. A good account of how Juche has been an integral part of North Korean political process since the Kim Il-Sung era including populist politics, party, and the military. Chang Dal-Jung. “Kimjongil cheje wa juche bijeon: Ideology, dang, gurigo gunjung ul chungsim uro.” Journal of Asiatic Studies 42 (1999): 229–277. Find this resource: Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » A classic work. Offers original insights on North Korean politics by studying Kim Il Sung’s life. Based on an exhaustive archival research on Kim, Suh examines his revolutionary past, domestic power struggle, the Korean War, relations with the Soviets and the Chinese, and Kim’s political thought among others. Suh, Dae-Sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.

Find this resource: Political Institutions Given the extreme difficulty of accessing relevant data, there are very few works that provide insights on the key institutions of North Korean politics. Lee 1995 is a rigorous and comprehensive study on the Korean Workers’ Party based on the analysis of Nodong Sinmun articles over several decades, while Lee 1978 provides a useful overview of the party. Minnich 2005 investigates the early years of the North Korean People’s Army. More recently, Gause 2006 provides a policy-relevant analysis on the dynamics between the party and the military under Kim Jong-Il’s Military First Policy. Bermudez 1998 and Bermudez 2001 are important contributions to the literature by providing detailed analyses of the Korean People’s Army. Koh 2005 is an analysis of North Korean command structure. Kim 1975 is a more comprehensive treatment of the North Korean political system and institutions. Bermudez, Joseph S. North Korean Special Forces. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998. Focuses on the Korean People’s Army’s special purposes forces.

Uses interviews with defectors and the data from various intelligence agencies. Bermudez, Joseph S. North Korean Special Forces. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998. Find this resource: Bermudez, Joseph S. The Armed Forces of North Korea. London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2001. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Examines the North Korean People’s Army with a focus on the historical context of its establishment, its organization, Soviet and Chinese influences, and the current tactics. Minnich, James. The North Korean People’s Army: Origins and Current Tactics. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2005. Find this resource: Domestic Political Process There are several works that allow us to have a glimpse on the internal dynamics of the North Korean political process. Paik 2004 discusses a broad picture of North Korean political process shedding light on the leadership structure, mass mobilization, and the nature of the system.

Lee 2003 argues that the succession of Kim Jong-Il as the new leader took place in the process of organizing the entire North Korean political establishment along the theme of unity and cohesion. Han 2009 notes the incentive structure of the North Korean regime is such that conservative power elite members continue to support the status quo. Kim 2009 discusses the most recent Chollima Movement in 2009 as part of the mass mobilization under the catchphrase of “a Strong and Prosperous Nation.” Ahn 1999 and Chang 2010 examine the significance of the constitutional revisions in 1998 and 2009 respectively and show how these revisions were meant to further consolidate the Kim Jong-Il system. Kim 1998 and Kim 2000 are writings of Kim Jong-Il that show how North Korea responded to the collapse of other socialist countries. They emphasize a unique North Korean redefinition of socialism through Juche and the propaganda of a Strong and Prosperous Nation. Ahn Yinhay.

“Kim Ilsung hunbub gwa kim Jongil cheje” Journal of Korean Political Science Association 32 (1999): 207–221. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » “Kim Il-Sung constitution and Kim Jung-Il system.” Analyzes the highlights of the 1998 constitution in conjunction with the consolidation process of the Kim Jong-Il regime after the death of Kim Il-Sung. Ahn Yinhay. “Kim Ilsung hunbub gwa kim Jongil cheje” Journal of Korean Political Science Association 32 (1999): 207–221. Find this resource: Chang Myung-Bong. “Bukhan ui 2009 hunbub gaechung gwa sungun chungchi ui jedojuk gongowha.” Constitutional Studies 16 (2010): 341–377. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » “The modern history of North Korea.” An edited volume on North Korea’s modern history.

Chapters discuss the topics of the party-state, economy, changes in the Workers’ Party, education reform, North Korean literature and Socialist realism, and national security, labor issues, and militarization. Paik, Hak-Soon, Hyun-su Chun, Charles Armstrong. Bukhan hyundaesa. Paju, South Korea: Hanul, 2004. Find this resource: Political Economy Koo 1992 offers a review of North Korea’s Juche (self-reliance) ideology in the field of political economy. Another thread of North Korean political economy literature published in 2000s offers some analysis of North Korea’s bankrupt national economy ( Eberstadt 2007 ). Haggard and Noland 2007 shows how such dire economic situation and the great famine has brought about some changes in the country’s political economy. While Haggard and Noland 2007 advocates the political origin of North Korean famine, Cumings 2002 argues that the root cause had to do with ecological disruptions. Cumings, Meredith Woo.

“The Political Ecology of Famine: The North Korean Catastrophe and Its Lessons.” ADB Institute Research Paper 31 (2002). Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » A policy paper that disputes the political origin of North Korean famine and puts forward an argument that the root causes laid in ecological disruptions and the decline of food availability. Cumings, Meredith Woo. “The Political Ecology of Famine: The North Korean Catastrophe and Its Lessons.” ADB Institute Research Paper 31 (2002). Find this resource: From a liberal perspective, the article offers a brief overview of the history, background, and politics of economic cooperation between the two Koreas under the Sunshine Policy. Petro, Leonid A. “The Politics of Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation: 1998–2009.” Asia-Pacific Journal 29 (2009). Find this resource: Foreign Relations Koh 1984 and Park, et al. 1987 provide a good overview of North Korean foreign relations. Park 2000 helps us understand North Korea’s foreign policy behavior by examining how North Korea perceives the world.

Yoo 1995 is a useful source for those who are interested in North Korean foreign policy decision-making process. There are some good scholarly works that analyze how North Korea has responded to the end of the Cold War. Kim 1998 is a comprehensive treatment of changes and continuities of North Korean foreign policy since the demise of the Soviet Union. Park 2010 is a collection of interesting essays that highlight various issues that are pertinent to North Korea’s relations with the outside world. Kim 2011 focuses on explaining the sources of North Korea’s provocative behavior based on the two themes of security dilemma and succession. Kim, Samuel, ed. North Korean Foreign Relations in the Post–Cold War Era. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Addresses North Korean foreign policy behavior in the post–Cold War era examining causes of the changes and continuities. Kim, Samuel, ed. North Korean Foreign Relations in the Post–Cold War Era. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Find this resource: Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Written by one of the architects of South Korea’s Sunshine Policy, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the engagement strategy and argues that Seoul should return to the Sunshine Policy. Moon, Chung-in. The Sunshine Policy: In Defense of Engagement as a Path to Peace in Korea. Seoul, South Korea: Yonsei University Press, 2012. Find this resource: Nuclear Issue There is a vast literature on North Korea’s nuclear development program exploring North Korean motivations, the evolution of crises, and the processes of international negotiations offered by Korea experts from both academia ( Cha and Kang 2003 ) and policy circles. Cha and Kang 2003 is a landmark work setting the tone for US debates on North Korea policy as the two authors come to represent two competing arguments, commonly known as hawkish and dovish, to explain North Korean behavior. Cha 2002 approaches the debate from a hawkish side. Sigal 1998 contributed to the debate by making a convincing case for engagement with North Korea. Funabashi 2007 and Pritchard 2007 approaches the issue in terms of failed diplomacy.

O’Hanlon and Mochizuki 2003 offers the idea of “grand bargain” to address the nuclear issue. Bader 2012 offers an insightful account on the Obama administration’s North Korea policy. Mostly policy-relevant in nature, these works offer excellent analyses as to how to better handle the threats from the North Korean nuclear development program. Due to the nature of the problem, most works are not about North Korea per se but are more about how to respond to North Korea. Bader, Jeffrey A. Obama and China’s Rise: An Insider’s Account of America’s Asia Strategy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2012. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Although the title of the book emphasizes otherwise, this book contains interesting chapters on the Obama administration’s North Korea policy and their evolution of thinking regarding how to deal with Pyongyang’s burgeoning nuclear weapons program. Bader, Jeffrey A. Obama and China’s Rise: An Insider’s Account of America’s Asia Strategy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2012.

Find this resource: Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Written by three principals in the negotiations leading to the 1994 Agreed Framework. Provides detailed illustrations of the United States decision-making and negotiations with North Koreans and its allies after the first North Korean nuclear crisis. Wit, Joel, Daniel Poneman, and Robert Gallucci. Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2004. Find this resource: Humanitarian Issues As North Korea has become one of the world’s largest recipients of international aid, the literature that explores the politics of aid in the North Korean context has been growing in recent years ( Natsios 2001 , Schloms 2004 ). Haggard and Nolan 2011 make a systemic use of refugee accounts to provide a social scientific description of humanitarian concerns that defectors face after fleeing North Korea. Flake and Snyder 2003 provides an understanding on nongovernmental organizations operating within North Korea. Smith 2005 emphasizes the importance of employing a humanitarian perspective toward North Korea as opposed to a statist approach. Flake, L. Gordon, and Scott Snyder.

Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » The only collection of essays on the experience of nongovernmental organizations operating in North Korea. The work looks at American, European, and South Korean experiences doing humanitarian work in the North. Flake, L. Gordon, and Scott Snyder. Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003. Find this resource: Haggard, Stephan, and Marcus Noland. Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2011. Save Citation » Export Citation » E-mail Citation » Approaches “the North Korean problem” from an angle of human security and presents the view that North Korea is knowable and can be better understood when looking at it through a humanitarian perspective rather than a statist view. Smith, Hazel. Hungry for Peace: International Security, Humanitarian Assistance, and Social Change in North Korea. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2005.

Find this resource: Leadership Succession, Contingency, and Unification Understandably, while there are only few works that examine North Korea’s future succession, Snyder 2010 and Center for U.S.-Korea Policy 2009 are a good start for anyone who wants to grasp a basic understanding of contingency plans. Lind and Bruce 2011 is a more technical, detailed analysis on the topic. Pollack and Lee 1999 lays out some of the basic considerations on the question of unification while Cha and Kang 2011 offers a timely analysis on key issues regarding the two Koreas’ integration over the long-term. These papers are designed to inform policy debates rather than scholarly in nature. On the death of Kim Jong-Il and the succession of Kim Jung-Un as North Korea’s top leader, Lankov 2012 argues that North Korea is not likely to go through rapid changes in the short term. Although written prior to the death of Kim Jong-Il, Lee 2010 and Koh 2010 explain the logics of the dynamics of North Korean succession process.

Published less than a year before Kim Jong-Il’s death, Snyder discusses three possible scenarios of leadership transition in North Korea and analyzes what each scenario would mean for the North Korean state and its neighbors. Snyder, Scott. “Kim Jong-Il’s Successor Dilemmas.” Washington Quarterly 33 (2010): 35–46. Find this resource: Society and Culture There is a growing literature on North Korea culture and society in recent years due to the increasing number of accounts made available by North Korean refugees as shown in Demick 2009 and Hassig and Oh 2009 . In particular, Kang 2005 and Harden 2012 address the question of North Korea’s human rights abuses. Myers 2010 and Frank 2011 deal with North Korean propaganda literature and arts. Lankov 2007 and Harrold 2004 hint at the question of social integration of people from both sides of the DMZ. Demick, Barbara. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2009.

Award-winning work and one of the best-written refugee accounts. Based on in-depth interviews with a few refugees who escaped North Korea, Demick offers humanizing narratives to North Korean society and everyday life. Demick, Barbara. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2009. Find this resource: Frank, Rudiger, ed. Exploring North Korean Arts. Papers from an international symposium at the MAK Vienna, 3–4 September 2010 in the context of the MAK exhibition “Flowers for Kim Il Sung,” 19 May–19 September 2010. Nuremberg, Germany: Moderne Kunst, 2011. FINAL EXAM - Political Science 212 with Singh at Eastern Michigan University - StudyBlue What are the 3 types of globalization? 1. Economic 3. Cultural What are GNP, GDP, and FDI? -GNP (Gross National Product)- it is the GDP of the country (minus) net factor income from abroad.

IS a measurement of domestic income -GDP (Gross Domestic Product)- money value of all final good and services produced in a country in a year. Measures every single cent a county earns (including money earned by MNC's) -FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)- Inflow of money into a country through MNC's. Money is invested in the economy by creating infrastructure, business, etc. What refers to the advantage that a country might have because of numerous reasons (human capital, natural resources, geographic location)? Comparative advantage What is it called when a country has an equal amount of money coming in from exports as the amount of money they are paying for imports? Balance of Trade How does politics interfere in markets? -World Markets What are 4 types of Social Theories? 1. Constructivism 3. Peace Studies 4. Gender Studies What is the theory that suggests that inter-state relationship based on how states perceive each other in global politics? This theory assumes that image of state matters and that the identity of a state develops due to that state's interactions with other states.

Construcivism What social theory is the basis of communism and says that the powerful classes exploit the weaker classes and that eventually the weaker classes will rise up against the wealthy (class struggle)? This theory also suggests that capitalism oppresses the poor resulting in conflict. Marxism What social theory challenges both Realism and Liberalism by looking at the role of individual, gender, economic inequality, etc. as factors that might help explain global politics? This theory also stresses the role of identity and argue that war is not only a result of power, but also tied closely to militarism in some culture. Peace Studies What social theory looks at the role of gender in decision making and international politics as well as argues that Realism looks at the world from a man's point of view, but ignores the women's perspective? This theory also suggests that woman are more effective in conflict mediation and dispute resolution than men. Gender Theories What explanation for ethnic conflict is described here: -Nationalities exist b/e there are traditions of belief and action towards primordial objects such as biological features and especially territorial location.

-This account relies on a concept of kinship between members of an ethnic group -Donald Horowitz argues that this kinship "makes it possible for ethnic groups to think in terms of family resemblances" Primordial ideas What explanation of ethnic conflict is described here: -This new theory seeks to explain persistence as the result of the actions of community leaders -They use their cultural groups as sites of mass mobilization and as constituencies in their competition for power and resources, b/e they found them more effective than social classes. -in this account, ethnicity and race are viewed as identities, organized as means to particular ends. -EX: Hutus and the Tutsis in Rawanda Instrumentalist View What explanation of ethnic conflict is described here: -this view primarily argues that interstate relations are socially constructed -they are given their form by ongoing processes of social practice and interaction Constructivism Ideas What is the term for states or nation states that have collapsed due to internal conflicts and are unable to function effectively as a viable political entity OR deeply conflicted, dangerous, and contested bitterly by warring factions (in most, gov't troops battle armed revolts led by one or more rivals)? What is an example? -A Failed State 5. sanctions (v.

constructive engagement) 6. Partition (v. sovereignty) Why have ethnic conflicts intensified in recent times? -cultural violence erupts most vociferously where secular economic decline, neoliberal economic reforms, and institutional transformation have broken old "social contracts" -globalization and liberalization are this "triggers" for cultural conflict, but they are not the only triggers, and they are not the underlying causes What is the role of institutions in preventing ethnic conflict? -play an important role in enabling ethnic conflict, at times, globalization and economic liberalization result in the weakening of the institutions within a state -An economic collapse in a state will result in people not responding to the state -Thus, if these institutions do not perform their work then interest groups come in to fill in the void on behalf of their communities, etc. -This results in competition for resources of the land resulting in conflict What is the role of the state in suppressing ethnic conflict?

state as an institution plays an important role in preventing ethnic conflict,institutions of a state prevent ethnic IDs from surfacing,every state has distinct ethnic identities.These identities enable people2identify w/their kinship,the states enforce rules&law enabling these ethnic identities2remain below the surface,the state enables cooperation in a society,the absence of a state results in anarchy w/in a state,these ethnic identities this come2the forefront resulting in conflict. What is the difference between the role of institutions and the role of the state in preventing ethnic conflict? -Institutions= International organizations and domestic institutions -States= countries What is meant by the term Fog of War? too much info- don't know what is happening, don't know what intention is of surrounding countries (unclear as to which info is true and which is false) What are the 3 main types of intelligence? 1. Human intelligence What is the role of intelligence services? -to provide info to policy formulators to make foreign policies -to provide critical info -to help policy makers make informed decisions based on the info the provide What are the causes of intelligence failure?

-systematic failures win an agency -inability of the spy agencies to react to changing threats -bureaucratic infighting -personal agenda -plan bad luck What term refers to when a state faces a threat to its national security because of the failure of its intelligence services? Intelligence failure What is a weapon in which its use overwhelms local responders as defined by the FBI (in other words, it is a weapon whose destructive potential is very high? A Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) What are the 3 main types of WMD's? 1. nuclear weapons What WMD is based on either uranium or plutonium and can have extremely high destructive capability? Nuclear weapons What WMD refers to the usage of pathogens such as small pox, Ebola virus, etc, to cause high level of death entities (more dangerous that nuclear weapons as they involve the use of deadly viruses and bacteria that can mutate and spread rapidly)? Biological weapons What WMD refers to the use of chemical weapons to cause widespread destruction (not very effective but easy to use and manufacture)? Chemical weapons Why do states want WMDs?

-it is a cheap source of ensuring security (ultimate defensive weapon)- WMDs have become "the weapon of the weak" because no one will use them. What types of threats does the world face because of WMDs? -threat of accidents -The Khan Proliferation network works to remove WMD threat What is the term for how one country interacts with another country or group? foreign policy What are the main goals of U.S. foreign policy? to create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community. What are the roots of U.S. foreign policy? -Isolationism (pre WWII): view that U.S. should deliberately avoid large role in world affairs and concentrate on domestic concerns. -Internationalism: view that country should involve itself deeply in world affairs. -The Cold War= detainment(only a determined U.S. could block Soviet territorial ambitions), Détente(an era of improved relations between U.S. and Societ Union (began in early 1970's). What are the chief instruments of national security policy in the U.S?

-Diplomacy (bilateral and multilateral) -economic exchange (trade and assistance) -intelligence gathering (monitoring other countries' activities What are the 3 primary economic goals of the U.S? 1. sustaining a stable and open system of trade that will promote prosperity at home 2. maintaining access to energy and other resources vital to the strength of the U.S. economy 3. keeping the widening gap between the rich and poor countries from destabilizing the world economy What is the new U.S. grand strategy? -maintain hegemony for as long as possible -when not possible, ensure a multipolar world with opposing powers not hostile to U.S. -contain China What are the left wing extremist/Maoist movements in India? -Naxalite (Maoist movement in India) - biggest threat to Indian security - aim to overthrow Indian gov't y 2050 -movement within the country -mainly in poor parts of the country -resulted in high causalities to security personnel Who is Dalai Lama and how is he a cause of tension between India and China?

-he was considered a war criminal by the Indian gov't (he was the spiritual head of Tibet), he ran to China and China housed him against India's wishes and wouldn't give him back What are some of the power centers in China and how do they play an important role in political process in China? -the Communist party - the people's national army -the National People's Congress -the Chinese Bureaucracy (gov't is divided into numerous ministries, each ministry is responsible for its specific area of operation) -think tanks (intelligence gathering bodies of the gov't) -local gov't- each area has a local gov't, stepping stones to working in Beijing. What are some of the security concerns of China? -China has a 10,000 miles long border that it has to defend -China has a personality based pattern or rule- security policy this becomes tools in domestic power struggles -China has always though itself as a great power What is China's grand strategy? -to control the periphery and ward off threats to the ruling regime -to preserve domestic order and well being in the face of different forms of social strife -to maintain geo-political influence as a major or primary state+ What is the String of Pearls strategy?

the string of military/shipping bases placed strategically along the edges of countries (which some view as a threat to India because it's going around India) Who are Reza Shah Pehalvi, Ayatollah Komeni, and Ayatollah Khameini? -Reza Shah Pehalvi- worked with U.S. as he ruled over Iran, Iran rioted against him so he sought refuge from the U.S., U.S. gave him refuge, Iran told U.S. to turn him in, U.S. said no= bad relationship w/Iran -Ayatollah Komeni- came into Iran and overthrew the regime of shah Reza -Ayatollah Khameini- the current supreme leader leader (also the high preist) Why does Iran fear the U.S? Because the U.S. has military bases stationed literally all around Iran. Who were the main political leaders in North Korea? 1. Kim II Sing -new leader, supported by the military and the party What is the DMZ and the 38th Parallel? DMZ= DeMilitarized Zone 38th parallel= line of U.S.

troops across the North and South Korea border What is Juche and Songun? -Juche- listen to everything state/leader says, gov't is always right -Songun- military is important, all resources should go to the military What are international institutions? What are the different types of IO's? -formal legal structures that have legitimacy across the world -there are 2 types: 1. International NGO's (Red Cross, Medicines San Frontier, ect.) 2. Intergovernmental Organizations (UN, EU, WTO) What was the Concert of Europe and why was it important for the development of IO's? -Concert of Europe ("congress system")= the result of a custom, following the era of Napoleon and the French Revolution, adopted by the old great powers of Europe of meeting from time to time in an International conference or congress, in order to plan a solution by mutual agreement, whenever some problem arose that threatened peace between European nations. -later created/propelled the treaty of Versailles which created the League of Nations? What was the League of Nations? an international organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.

The league's goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy and improving global quality of life (has a lack of armed forces). What is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achieving world peace (was created to replace __)? How many member states are involved in the UN? - The United Nations (UN) - the League of Nations after WWII -193 member states What are the 3 main bodies of the UN? 1. UN General Assembly-representatives of all states, coordinate a variety of devlpment prgrms, &other autonomous agencies through the economic &social council-193 members 2. UN Security Council-5 great powers&10 rotating mber states make decions about internat'l peace &secrity,dispatches peacekeeping forces2 troubled spots,require 9votes from 15mbers,1no defeats vote. 3. UN Secretariat-takes care of the administration of the UN, led by the secretary-general What is the structure of the UN?

-World Court -judicial arm of the UN -only one in Hague (outside NYC) -15 judges for 9 yr terms -national delegations to the UN, headed by ambassadors from member states, work and meet together at the UN headquarters in NYC. -5 great powers each have a veto over substantive decisions of the Security Council. -Mechanism for collective security What are the roles and functions of these agencies affiliated with the UN: UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO? UNDP- United Nations development Program (promotes economic development) UNHCR- UN Human Council for Refugees (helps refugees around the world) UNICEF- UN International Children's Emergency Fund (provides education for children around the world) UNESCO- UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (promotes global cooperation, protects global monuments) What are the functions of Trade Organizations such as GATT and WTO? To helps resolve trade disputes What are the functions of these regional trading blocs and where are they located: EU, ASEAN, NAFTA, OPEC, SAARC, MERCOSOUR?

EU- for trading, Europe ASEAN- Association of South East Asian Nations (made the Euro) NAFTA- North Atlantic Free Trade Association OPEC- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries SAARC- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation MERCOSOUR- South American bloc alliance What are the roles of the following lending IO's: IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank? IMF- aims to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. World Bank- gives loans to governments Asian Development Bank- Loans to Asian countries African Development Bank- loans to African countires What are NGO's? What are their role and functions and why are they important? NGO's= Non Governmental Organizations which are primarily organizations with a particular objective, they do not rely on gov't for support of funding, they are primarily based on volunteer support and work within communities. What are some examples of major NGO's and in which fields do they operate in? -The Red Cross and Red Crescent-disaster relief -Medicines' San Frontier or Doctors Without Borders (Medical Help) -Habitat for Humanity-Housing An environment in which is sustainable?

What is Global Warming/Global Climate Change? The deteriorating of the ozone layer and a warming of the earth. What is meant by the term Biodiversity? The diversity of living life forms that are sustainable on the earth? Why is Antarctica so Special? It was agreed way back when that Antarctica wouldn't be claimed by any country. Now countries are beginning to find oil there and many are beginning to take an interest in it. What is the role of natural resources in shaping international conflict? Some countries need resources that they may not have so they need to find it elsewhere which may cause conflict? -Resource Curse What are the impact and influence of water disputes? countries fight over it because everyone needs water? Which two countries account for 40% of the global population? India and China What is can be defined as a systematic use of terror in order to achieve a pre-determined goal (can be actual or psychological, attack both civilian and military targets)? terrorism What are the various causes of terrorism? 1. psychological causes-some people say terrorists are mentally unstable. WRONG. They are highly motivated people willing to die for a cause, not crazy but have rationalized their actions 2.

Ideological factors- the power of ideas (Marxism, Leninism, radical Islamic viewpoints), believe that their religion is pure that that their ideas are undermined by the western world. 3. Environmental factors-can be social,political,& economic ;can be social grievances (no 1 cause) What are the various types of terrorism? -Conventional Terrorism=use of conventional means to engage in terrorism (shootings, killings, etc) -Terrorism with WMD (havn't used yet, can't get a hand on defective delivery system) What is the objective of terrorism? to scare people and get media attention to spread fear (objective is not to kill people) How can we deal with terrorism? 1. Eliminating the causes for terrorism-difficult, does work in case of political conflict, economic growth of region can help if that is the problem, introducing democracy2. Military Operation-use of military force (best way to reduce power of terrorists), can weaken(not eradicate)3. The rule of law-democracy, tries terrorists in criminal courts to reduce them to nothing more than common criminals4. International Cooperation-combined resources to catch terrorists What is the CNN effect? Hoe does it encourage terrorism?

-The idea that new companies blow things out of proportion -This encourages terrorism because it gives terrorists the publicity and media coverage they want What is suicide terrorism? a calculated strategy (not a desperate act by terrorists) What are the 3 objectives to suicide terrorism? 1. take out objects of high value with certainty 2. spread fear 3. get noticed in world media Why do terrorist organizations resort to suicide terrorism? When multiple groups compete for attention and the hearts an minds of a population, they often use violence as a test of one's commitment to the cause. Violence also increases a groups legitimacy in the eyes of the movement's supporters, want to do something extraordinary to stand out of the crowd What does the future of terrorism look like according to the NIC (National Intelligence Council) report? Terrorism is unlikely to disappear by 2025 but its appeal could diminish due to economic growth, a concern is that a terrorist group will begin to use biological agents or a nuclear device to cause mass causalities. Which 4 countries are the Asian Tigers? 1. Singapore

Question: The policy of Songun that emphasizes the role of military guides the political and economic life in what country?
Answer: North Korea